Best Guns for Preppers

Most Preppers have a
favorite topic. From my experience, when discussing
Prepping with other guys, the subject of the best guns
for Preppers always gets the most attention. The best
guns for Preppers are those that the Prepper is best
comfortable with. There are some guys who wouldn't know
what to do with a Barrett M82A1 .50 cal. nor could they
afford it.

We've researched this and the best way
to start this topic is to give our opinion. Our goals in building our
weapons cache was to have two of every weapon type (in case we have to
cannibalize one for parts), with common calibers and that could be
properly handled by men and women. With that said, here is our basic
list of best guns for preppers.

If you can only have one weapon in your
arsenal, make it the versatile shotgun. For home defense
or close quarters, a shotgun is very forgiving with
respect to nervous aiming. By that I mean you don’t have
to be very accurate with a shotgun to do some damage.
Even the sound of racking the slide up and down can be
an effective deterrent. In addition to home defense, a
shotgun is perfectly suited for hunting both small game
and larger animals with the right type of ammunition.
Another plus is that shotguns are plentiful and the
ammunition isn’t expensive compared to our rifles. For
the tactical minded prepper, you can even augment your
shotgun with lots of accessories similar to your pistol
or AR-15. It is my first choice for close quarters
defense.

Our choice: We have
two Mossberg 590A1 Tactical Pump Shotguns. One is still
in stock condition and the other has been modified for
tactical use with weapons, grips, laser and a flashlight
attachment. They hold nine shells which we stagger one
bird, two .oo buckshot and so on.

AR15: .223/NATO 5.56

There are several reasons for placing an
AR-15 on your purchase list. The first is that this is
the weapon you want to use in a variety of other
solutions and its strengths lie outside of the shotgun’s
sweet spot. The AR-15 chambered in .223 gives you a
highly flexible weapon platform. The AR-15 holds a
higher capacity of ammunition so you will need to reload
less often. When would you possibly need 30 rounds of
ammunition? What if your home was being overrun by 50
people who had wandered off the highway from the town 20
miles away and they were deadly intent on taking your
home and your possessions away from you? The AR-15,
unlike a shotgun is a medium distance hero. Where the
shotgun is good for close quarters, you wouldn’t expect
to hit anything with any real power above 30-40 yards.
The AR-15, in a competent shooter’s hand is excellent up
to 300 yards on any day. I would rather take care of the
bad guys when they are very far away from me and my
family.

Our choice: We
actually researched this extensively to determine which
AR15 was the best seller. Why? After TEOTWAWKI gun
replacement parts or gunsmiths will be difficult to
find. Although we are buying two of everything, the AR15
platform will be most critical to our defense. We looked
for a medium price best seller and settled on the
Bushmaster. We have two Bushmaster Super Light Carbon
15's. This rifle has been sold in most sporting goods
outlets and can easily be handled by my wife due to its
light weight. It is chambered in both .223 and NATO 5.56
ammo. We have a variety of magazine capacities including
30 round, 42 round and 60 round. In a battle scenario,
we would carry 30 round mags filled with 28 rounds to
limit jams. The last three rounds would be tracer ammo
to warn of us the mag is being emptied.

A side note on the
AR15 platform. We also have one Kel-Tec PLR16. PLR
stands for pistol, long range. I believe that this will
be a fabulous tool post collapse because of it's
concealable. Yet it has the same firepower as the mighty
AR15 utilizing the same NATO 5.56 rounds. It hold the
same magazine and has been outfitted with rails, light
and foregrip. This is our choice for a bug out bag.

RIFLE: .308 / NATO 7.62

When it
comes to a long-range
rifle, I am talking
about between 300 and
600 yards now and this
is primarily for
hunting. They can also
be used to take over
where your AR-15 begins
to fall short. If you
start going too far past
300 yards, your AR-15
will need a little help.
Can you still hit
targets at that range?
Sure but I would rather
have a caliber that
isn’t slowing down
already. My personal
recommendation for a
long-range rifle is a
.308, also chambered in
NATO 7.62.

For one
reason, the .308 is
capable of taking down
any big game in North
America. You won’t run
into an animal that
can’t be hunted
successfully with a
.308. Are there other
calibers that can do the
job? Of course, but in
addition to being a
great all around hunting
weapon, the .308 is
also a common sniper
caliber for police
forces. It is also a
common caliber with my
favorite battle rifle.

Our
choice: For hunting, and
sniping if TEOTWAWKI
requires it, the best
bolt action .308 for us
is the Sig Sauer SSG
3000. That said, it is
not what I would
recommend for most
preppers. I purchased
this rifle because of
it's high reviews, but
it is very pricey at a
$1500 retail.

As a
recommendation for a
good quality .308 that
would be a reasonably
priced option, look for
a Remington 700. For
over 50 years the 700
has offered the
qualities of quality,
accuracy and durability
at a price every man can
afford. Because it is so
plentiful, replacement
parts should be
available. It can be
purchased at all
sporting goods stores at
a decent price.

HANDGUNS: Full Size &
Concealed Carry

Pistols are usually the first firearm people choose for a few reasons. They are easier to handle, easier to hide and less wieldy in general. Pistols definitely have their place, but they would come after an AR-15 and a shotgun in my opinion. Why is that? A wise man once said that “a pistol is what you use to get back to your rifle”. Pistols are for close quarters and you want that to be a last resort. You don’t want to be that close to any bad guys. However, it happens and pistols are an important aspect of your survival battery of arms. Run out of ammunition in your shotgun or AR-15 and then you grab the pistol. Bad guy kicks in the door while you are asleep then you reach for the pistol close to the bed.

For a full size pistol, we recommend .45 caliber. Why the .45 and not a .9mm? It comes down to stopping power really. We have both calibers, but if I could only buy one and I was buying this for home defense it would be a .45 caliber. That is also why I recommend a full-size in the .45 caliber. The kick is simply too strong to for women, and most men, to handle in a .45. What about the .9mm you ask? We use it for concealed carry purposes. It can hold up to 17 rounds. The .9mm does not have the kick and works very well as a concealed carry weapon. If you put a big freaked out marauder kicking in your door and you told me to pick one gun to use to take him down I would pick up the .45 before the .9mm. If I am going to the grocery store, I carry a .9mm.

Our choice: For a full sized handgun, we chose The Springfield 1911 MC Operator Model in .45 cal. It has tritium night sights and a rail for a laser light. The matte finish is low glare and not flashy.

For a concealed carry weapon, we have the Springfield xdm in .9mm. In fact we have several hidden throughout our property and available when needed. The extended magazine allows for 19 + 1 which is nice for a smaller weapon.

Practice, Small Game: .22lr

We won't
spend too much time on
this subject because
most Preppers know that
the .22 is the most
common gun available.
One type may have
advantages over another
but the primary purpose
of your .22lr is to
practice your weapons
training without burning
through expensive ammo.
We have several .22's
but my favorites are the
Sig Sauer Mosquito in
desert digital camo
because of its 1911
style, threaded barrel
and rail for
attachments.

We chose
the Mossberg Tactical
.22 lr in an AR15 style.
It is a close match to
our Bushmasters which
makes it excellent for
training purposes.

So there
you have it. Preppers
with way more knowledge
than we have will debate
everyone of our choices.
But having given it a
lot of thought and
research, the above
worked best for us.